Tehran, Iran – Iranian officials say the continuation of the United States naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could end the current stalemate in fighting as mediators try to secure a diplomatic solution.
Major General Ali Abdullahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said, “If the aggressive and terrorist US wishes to continue its illegal actions of imposing a naval blockade in the area and creating insecurity for Iranian commercial ships and oil tankers, then this US action would be a prelude to a violation of the ceasefire.”
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“Iran’s powerful armed forces will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the region of the Persian Gulf, the Sea of ​​Oman and the Red Sea,” Abdullahi, whose organization is waging war and influencing political decision-making, was quoted by state media on Wednesday as saying.
The comments came as the US military said its naval blockade had “completely halted economic trade in and out of Iran by sea” and would continue amid a two-week ceasefire announced a week ago.
US President Donald Trump told Fox News that the war is “close to being over” and hinted at another round of face-to-face talks with Iran in Pakistan in the coming days, but US media also reported that thousands more US troops have been sent to the Middle East on warships.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead the US delegation if the second round of talks is successful, but no date has been set.
Pakistan’s military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, arrived in Iran on Wednesday as part of the Pakistani delegation after “several messages” were exchanged with the US through intermediaries after the Iranian delegation returned from Islamabad on Sunday.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai told reporters that the goal of any possible future talks would be to “completely end the war and realize Iran’s rights” in addition to lifting sanctions imposed on the country.
He also stressed that Iran has not and will not seek nuclear weapons, but insists on its right to acquire nuclear energy for civilian purposes under UN safeguards. He said the level and type of enrichment could be negotiated.
Baghai also reiterated Iran’s criticism of International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi for statements and reports about Iran’s nuclear program, which he believes paved the way for Israel’s 12-day war in June and the current war that the US and Israel started on February 28.
On Wednesday, Iranian Parliament Speaker and former IRGC and police commander Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation at the weekend talks in Pakistan, held a rare phone call with UAE Vice President Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. According to the UAE’s WAM news agency, they discussed “regional developments and ways to reduce tensions in the region”.
The ceasefire was preceded by a massive Iranian attack on the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf Arab countries, and Iran said it was targeting the US military presence in those countries.
‘Never make concessions’
Iranian officials have maintained a defiant stance, saying their supporters, who have taken to the streets at night in a show of strength over the past six weeks, would not be happy if major concessions were made on uranium enrichment and the Strait of Hormuz.
Messages from Iran’s hardline-controlled state television and several members of parliament are against talks with Washington, pushing a statement that they believe Iran has the upper hand after surviving a 40-day war with military superpowers.
Speaking to supporters gathered Tuesday night in the streets of Saveh, southwest of Tehran, Parliament Deputy Speaker Ali Nikzad said Iran considers control of the Strait of Hormuz a sovereign and legal matter.
He said, “We will never make concessions to our enemy.”
Esmail Kousari, a member of parliament’s National Security Commission and a former senior IRGC commander, said it would be “impossible” for the government to accept “a single clause” of the 15 points set by the Trump administration to achieve peace.
“We will participate in the talks to show the world that they must step in and stop this destabilization. We know that the Americans are not trustworthy and will not commit to agreements,” he told the state-run IRNA news agency.
For his part, President Massoud Pezeshkian has said Tehran will continue negotiations within the framework of international law and has blamed Washington for “excessive demands” that have derailed any agreement, including with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Former reformist President Mohammad Khatami, sidelined for years, issued a statement late Tuesday indicating that the IRGC must now translate achievements in the war zone into a “lasting peace” that will allow Iran to develop.
He wrote, “We have entered a new and more sensitive phase in which we must, free from exuberance and extremism, consolidate our present military and political achievements; and, through an accurate and realistic understanding of society and the requirements of the post-war period and the new global economic and political development, remove the threat, aggression and shadow of war from Iran.”
More arrests, seizures announced
Iranian authorities continue to announce death sentences as well as large numbers of arrests and asset seizures.
The judiciary has said some of the executions were linked to nationwide protests in January that left thousands dead during internet blackouts. Others were linked to national security crimes and various other charges.
Iranian authorities are set to execute at least 1,639 people in 2025 and even more this year amid a war with the US and Israel, Norway-based Iran Human Rights and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty said on Monday.
The figure represents a 68 percent increase from the previous year and is the highest number of executions per capita in the world, second only to China due to its higher total number.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry announced on Wednesday that it had arrested 30 mercenaries linked to Israel’s spy agency Mossad. It also released footage of handguns and ammunition it said had been seized and the “confession” of a man with a blurred face, identified only as “the head of the separatist terrorist group”.
The judiciary on Wednesday named another foreign-based Iranian citizen who had all his assets, including cash, an apartment building and a vehicle in Hamedan, seized due to his alleged activities against the Iranian government abroad. Even within the country, people have faced asset confiscation due to dissident behavior.
